Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are inflated, irrational beliefs and thoughts that skew a person’s perception of reality, typically in a pessimistic way. They are widespread, tend to occur automatically and habitually, and affect mental health by increasing depression and stress. For example, individuals with anxiety are more likely to negatively interpret ambiguous information.

Some of the most universal cognitive distortions are:

• Black-and-White/All-or-Nothing Thinking – This dichotomous thinking pattern views things in terms of either/or rather than acknowledging all possible outcomes;

• Catastrophizing – Assuming the worst and seeing unpleasant results as being the most likely to occur;

• Filtering – Excluding information, negative or positive. This often accompanies Discounting the Positive, an extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking that disregards any beneficial information and considers only the negative;

• Magnifying – Exaggerating things or blowing them out of proportion;

• Mindreading – Believing that you know what someone else is thinking or feeling, especially without external confirmation that your assumptions are true;

• Minimizing – Diminishing positive events;

• Personalization – Taking things personally, attributing other’s actions to your own behavior and blaming yourself for circumstances beyond your control; and

• “Should” Statements – Thoughts that include “should,” “ought,” or “must” are usually cognitive distortions. This thinking pattern can induce guilt or shame and lead a person to feel angry, bitter or frustrated when others fail to meet his/her unrealistic expectations. Since individuals generally cannot control the behavior of others, thinking about what they “should” do serves no healthy purpose.

To combat cognitive distortions, record your automatic thoughts after an upsetting event takes place. Examine them to see if any cognitive distortions are occurring and, if so, to consider more realistic and rational beliefs. This can help you be more mindful when responding to future events. Similarly, give yourself the same encouragement you would provide to a close friend facing a like situation. Reattribution will allow you to identify external factors and other individuals which/who contributed to a problem or event and to more accurately and objectively understand your responsibility in what happened. Finally, folding a piece of paper in half and making lists of the good and bad things from your day can assist you in keeping life in perspective and realizing that frequently the positive side will be longer than the negative one.

Depression not only makes a person’s thoughts more pessimistic, but also causes him or her view negative events as being internal, stable and global, and results in helplessness, hopelessness and poor problem solving. Cognitive biases are interrelated and the greater the number of them that an adolescent has, the more severe his or her symptoms of depression will be. Thought patterns can be changed through cognitive therapy, however. The process known as cognitive restructuring adjusts a individual’s automatic thoughts to influence his or her behavior and emotions.